


Nightmares, Tea, and Promises

by Malec_Lover23



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Caring Alec Lightwood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Magnus Bane, Hurt Magnus Bane, M/M, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane Needs A Hug, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood Fluff, Protective Alec Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:27:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23487550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malec_Lover23/pseuds/Malec_Lover23
Summary: Find me on tumblr and Wattpad (I have so much more written on Wattpad but I’m slowly moving everything over to ao3) Malec_Lover23Enjoy <3
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 2
Kudos: 84





	Nightmares, Tea, and Promises

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr and Wattpad (I have so much more written on Wattpad but I’m slowly moving everything over to ao3) Malec_Lover23  
> Enjoy <3

Magnus tries to scream. He tries to scream,but not a sound comes out. 

The water running down his throat like a tsunami crashing against an unprepared shore was a buffer to his sound. 

Water pours down his throat,and no matter how much he fights against his step-father it doesn't help. He eventually becomes paralyzed with terror, the inevitable terror that comes with dying. 

Mentally,he is sobbing,hysterically shrieking for something other than water to grab onto.  
Physically,he isn't saying a thing. 

He can't. He is incapable of moving a single muscle, including his voice. He is numb. 

But Alec hears him. Alec can tell,by the thrashing of limbs and quickened pulse. 

Alec knows dreams haunt Magnus more than he lets on. What those dreams are about,however, Alec isn't as sure about but he has a fairly accurate guess. 

And that guess consists of Magnus's step father. 

Alec sits up groggily just as Magnus utters the word no over and over again. 

The small alarm clock on Magnus's side reads 3:36 am, and Alec would never be up at this time if it weren't for anyone but Magnus and his close family.

"Magnus,Hey Magnus" Alec gently wraps his hand around Magnus's wrist,attempting to calm him and wake him. However,it does the exact opposite. Magnus flinches at the contact,probably thinking it's the person in his dream touching him, and rips his hands away. 

Alec's heart aches for his boyfriend, who's petrified in his alternate reality. 

"My love,this isn't real. Magnus,wake up,please!" Alec gently cups Magnus's face and rubs his thumb over his cheek.

"No, don't!" Magnus shakes as tears begin to pour down his face. Alec softly wipes them away and whispers to Magnus, praying to the Angels above that he'll wake up. 

Alec doesn't know how much longer he can take this. It's painful, watching someone you love become agonized, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. 

Magnus gasps and jumps up in his bed, no longer underwater but still disoriented.

However, when a warm hand wraps around his waist the colors of the room begin to bleed together and he focuses on his bewildered and concerned boyfriend.

Once he realizes what just happened to him wasn't physically real, Magnus begins to sob. The water was so cold, the emotions so poignant, his stepfather so determined to kill the demon of his son. 

"Hey, hey Magnus look at me." He hesitantly glances at Alec, whose fighting back tears himself, and buries himself in his warm embrace. Alec's arms encircle his body, hands run through his hair. 

Every moment wrapped in Alec makes Magnus more calm and safer. 

"You're okay Magnus. You're with me." 

"Nothing will hurt you, my love." 

"I'm right here, and I'll always be right here for you." 

"It's just a dream, it's gone now."

"I love you, okay?" 

"I love you too" Magnus shakily replies, finally finding the will to lift his head off of Alec's chest. 

"Hey, you're okay. Do you want to talk about it?" Alec winds his hand through Magnus's hair, and Magnus wraps his hand around Alec's and leans into the touch. 

"I- I can't stop seeing him. He's everywhere. It's so vivid...." 

"Mags, there's nobody here except for me. I promise you." Magnus nods and closes his eyes, exhaustion pulling him into the tendrils of sleep but fear pulling him right back into reality. 

"Let's go back to sleep okay? You're still exhausted, I can tell." Alec begins to lay back down, keeping a close grip on Magnus.

"I don't ever want to sleep again. What if- what if I dream about him again?" 

"Then I'll be here. I won't let anyone hurt you Magnus."

"I still can't...I-I'm going to g-get some tea." Magnus slowly gets out of bed, leaving Alec to trail behind him.

Magnus gets two cups out of the cupboard, one that says I love Alexander and the other that is just blue with a chipped side. Regardless of the chipped side, it's still Alec's favorite mug. 

Alec fills the cup with water and places them in the microwave to heat up while Magnus gets the milk, honey, and two tea bags out of the cabinet.

"Are you okay now?" Alec gently asks, coming closer to his love and wrapping an arm around him.

"Never better Alexander" Magnus kisses him, their lips smashed together until the ding of the microwave brings them apart. Alec leaves his side to gather the hot water and put the tea bags in them, leaving them to steep. Magnus pours half the bottle of honey in his, while Alec merely dumps a few spoonfuls of milk in his. Alec always likes to keep it natural. 

Magnus begins to walk out to the patio, and Alec gently calls his name, hoping to summon Magnus to bed so they can drink their tea and then go to sleep.

"Come out here, love." Magnus seems to be out of it so he obeys without protest. Alec follows Magnus to his small loveseat outside. 

Magnus tightens his robe around his body and sips his tea, staring out into the nothingness of Brooklyn at 3am. 

"Here are you cold?" Alec slips his sweater off and wraps his around Magnus, then sits beside him. Deciding not to talk, Alec sips his tea and waits; Alec knows Magnus will talk when he's ready. 

They sit in silence, watching their breath collide with the chilling air, heating the cars honk and beep below them. 

"Do you want to talk about it? Whenever I have a nightmare I was told that talking helps work things through." Alec suggests, wrapping a warm hand around Magnus's wrist. 

"My stepfather drowned me. In the dream, I mean. Well he did it in real life too." Magnus sadly chuckles, with no real emotion behind the laugh other than pain. "He forced my whole body into the lake without giving me a moment of mercy. He knew firsthand about the demon inside of me." Magnus sniffles. "He didn't seem to mind that he was drowning his wife's son, or just a human in general. He was always like that, he never thought twice about much. That's what I was dreaming about, just him shoving me under the water. In my dream he always has this power, and no matter what I do I can't stop him." Magnus lower lip trembles and he turns away from Alec, not baring to see his reaction.

"Magnus look at me." Alec commands. The two of them have been through this several times before, yet that didn't make the conversation any less important. If Magnus was still dreaming about it then it still hurt Magnus more than he let on. 

Magnus turns his tear-streaked face towards Alec and bites his lip to stop sobs from crawling up his throat. Alec's face is always so comforting, so homely, so Alexander. 

"Magnus, you are the most beautiful human being I've ever met in my life. And I know twenty three years isn't a lot, but I've met a lot of people. Don't ever let one ignorant man tell you different. I know the past is so prominent in your life, but we're here.  
In the present. You're with me, and the Angels themselves would need to bestow some angelic luck on this stepfather of yours if he comes back into your life." Magnus chuckles, for real this time. "You deserve better than this, Magnus. Never denounce yourself to his level. I love you." Alec leans forward to press his lips against Magnus's.

Magnus' tastes like sweet honey and salty tears, yet it's a perfect combination to Alec. It's him, his love, his home, his Magnus. 

"Can you please come back to bed now? I don't want you to loose sleep over this." Magnus solemnly nods and flicks his wrists, the cups of tea now gone from the table, presumably in the sink in the kitchen. Leave it to Magnus to make a spell for that. 

Magnus wraps his arm around Alec's waist and they walk to the bedroom together. Alec carefully tucks Magnus in, bringing the blankets to nestle at his neck like Magnus likes it.

"I'll protect you Magnus." And with that promise firmly embedded in his head, he closes his eyes and dreams of the blue-eyed black-haired boy who spoke those words.


End file.
